A Glassblower's Companion: A Compilation of Studio Equipment Designs, Essays, & Glassblowing Ideas

A Glassblower's Companion is a book about Giberson's views on glass technology. It is a collection of designs, essays, and glassmaking ideas which focus on the underlying philosophy of hot glass. It is a document that will be of interest to anyone who works with glass, whether he/she is a glassblower, a pate de verre caster, or a modern beadmaker, even someone who simply collects and loves glass. Archaeologists will be especially interested in the ancient glass explanations, as Giberson focuses on simple ideas that actually work.

On a very practical side, this book is about building and maintaining studio equipment. It has twenty-five chapters: five are on glory holes (from a small 6 inch paperweight maker's glory to a huge 4 burner unit with a 30 inch opening); ten chapters are about furnaces for melting glass, again from small to big; five chapters are on annealers and slumpers, kilns for casting as well; and finally there are five chapters on accessory glass making equipment. The purpose of the book is to allow the reader to acquire enough insight and knowledge while reading this document that he should be able to build his own studio equipment when finished.